High-Class Field Of Six Remain For Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes

The 2021 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes at Ascot looks set to provide a memorable battle of the generations as a high-class field of six is headlined by the star 4-year-old filly Love (Aidan O'Brien), who will take on this year's Derby winner Adayar (Charlie Appleby).

The Group 1 contest offers the winner an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Longines Turf this fall at Del Mar.

A dual-Classic winner last year, Love returned to action this season by winning the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot. She will be joined by her Group 1 winning stablemate Broome.

Wonderful Tonight (David Menuisier) is also declared for the race, having gotten the better of Broome when winning the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at the Royal Meeting in June.

Further intrigue is provided by Mishriff (John & Thady Gosden), who has recorded international success this year in Saudi Arabia and Dubai and steps up to a mile and a half in this country for the first time.

Completing the line-up is Lone Eagle (Martyn Meade), the other 3-year-old runner in the race who was second in the Irish Derby, form which has already been franked by the winner Hurricane Lane.

Ahead of the race, Adayar's trainer Charlie Appleby, said: “I'm delighted with his preparation; he looks a million dollars. It's going to be a fantastic race to watch hopefully and whoever wins it will be top of the mile and a half division.

“It looks at the moment as if it was a good Derby. It [winning the King George and the Derby] hasn't been done since Galileo so for Adayar to turn up here is a huge occasion for everybody.

“It's a challenge and now we're stepping up into the big boy division so it's going to be a fascinating race. We're looking forward to it and excited to see what Adayar does.”

The post High-Class Field Of Six Remain For Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Another Godolphin 1-2 in the Diana

In a virtual repeat of last month's GI Just A Game S. going Belmont's one-mile turf configuration, Godolphin's Althiqa (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Summer Romance (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) proved too strong for their American counterparts, this time in the nine-furlong GI Diana S. at Saratoga.

As she did downstate, Summer Romance cut out the running Saturday afternoon, tracked closest by GIII Eatontown S. victress Vigilantes Way (Medaglia d'Oro) through a solid opening couple of furlongs in :23.57 as Althiqa raced with just two rivals behind turning up the backstretch. Luis Saez was able to back the pace down some during the Diana's middle furlongs–the half-mile was posted in :48.17–and Summer Romance continued to hold Vigilantes Way at bay as they raced into the second turn. Harvey's Lil Goil (American Pharoah) caught the eye with a three-wide sweep leaving the three-eighths pole, but Althiqa was drafting in behind and following that one's move into the stretch. Produced off the heels of her fellow gray rival with about a furlong and a half to race, Althiqa grabbed Summer Romance at the sixteenth pole and was punched out by Manny Franco to score comfortably. La Signare (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) rallied to just touch Harvey's Lil Goil out of third.

“I just wanted to wait as long as I could, because I knew the distance was further than the last race,” said Franco, whose 2020 Spa season included Grade I wins aboard Tiz the Law (Consitution) in the GI Runhappy Travers S. and Channel Maker (English Channel) in the GI Sword Dancer S. “That was the question, but she did it. They didn't tell me much. They just told me to cover her [up] and follow somebody until I made my move. I think that was the key; that she was so relaxed behind horses and then she gave me a nice move and nice kick.”

A listed winner at Deauville and placed at group level at that venue, at Goodwood and at Doncaster last year, Althiqa returned from a September layoff to post a stylish victory–with Summer Romance fifth–in the G2 Cape Verdi S. at Meydan Jan. 28 before finishing third to her stable companion in the G2 Balanchine S. three weeks hence. Racing first-up for 3 1/2 months in the Just A Game, Althiqa settled well off pacesetting Summer Romance and rallied at the rail in the final eighth of a mile beneath Mike Smith to score by 3/4 of a length.

Pedigree Notes:

Althiqa is one of eight top-level winners, and–remarkably–three of those have achieved those victories in the U.S., Raging Bull (Fr) and Hunt (Ire) being the others. Dark Angel is the sire of one of the world's fleetest turf horses, Battaash (Ire), who could face an American challenge in the form of Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) in next month's G1 Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe S. over a straight five furlongs at York. The Yeomanstown Stud inmate is also the sire of Godolphin's 4-year-old colt Real World (Ire), impressive winner of the Listed Steventon S. at Newbury Saturday.

Mistrusting is the dam of Althiqa's 2-year-old full-sister Before Dawn (Ire), second on Newmarket debut in May and a narrowly beaten runner-up over the Kempton all-weather when last seen June 30. She produced a Dark Angel colt last year and a filly by Kodiac (GB) this term.

Saturday, Saratoga
DIANA S.-GI, $500,000, Saratoga, 7-17, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/8mT, 1:47.65, gd.
1--ALTHIQA (GB), 122, f, 4, by Dark Angel (Ire)
                1st Dam: Mistrusting (Ire) (SW-Eng, $120,206),
                                by Shamardal
                2nd Dam: Misheer (GB), by Oasis Dream (GB)
                3rd Dam: All For Laura (GB), by Cadeaux Genereux (GB)
O/B-Godolphin (GB); T-Charles Appleby; J-Manuel Franco.
$275,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-UAE, MGSP-Eng, SW &
GSP-Fr, 11-6-2-3, $741,213. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Summer Romance (Ire), 120, f, 4, by Kingman (GB)
                1st Dam: Serena's Storm (Ire), by Statue of Liberty
                2nd Dam: Princess Serena, by Unbridled's Song
                3rd Dam: Serena's Sister, by Rahy
(300,000gns Ylg '18 TATOCT; €800,000 2yo '19 ARQMA).
O-Godolphin, LLC; B-Round Hill Stud (IRE); T-Charles Appleby.
$100,000.
3–La Signare (Fr), 118, m, 6, by Siyouni (Fr)
                1st Dam: La Teranga (Fr), by Beat Hollow (GB)
                2nd Dam: Adrastea (Ire), by Monsun (Ger)
                3rd Dam: Akasma (Ger), by Windwurf (Ger)
O-Madaket Stables LLC, Tim & Anna Cambron & Bradley
Thoroughbreds; B-Moussa Mbacke (FR); T-Brendan P. Walsh.
$60,000.
Margins: 3/4, 1 3/4, NK. Odds: 3.95, 2.70, 16.40.
Also Ran: Harvey's Lil Goil, Pocket Square (GB), Magic Attitude (GB), Vigilantes Way, Lemista (Ire).
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Another Godolphin 1-2 in the Diana appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Frankel Colt Hurricane Lane Adds Second G1 To His Resume In Grand Prix De Paris

The Irish Derby winner, who'd just lost his unbeaten record when third in the Epsom Derby, smashed the field in a hot Grand Prix de Paris (G1) on Wednesday which, probably more than ever, looked like the Derby of all Derbies.

Hurricane Lane (Frankel), for Godolphin, led the field behind the front-runner of the Aidan O'Brien squad, The Mediterranean (Galileo). He came by entering the last straight and simply went away to win by six lengths over Wordsworth (Galileo), third in the Irish Derby and second here with a length over King Edward VII Stakes (G2) winner Alenquer (Adlerflug), who had beaten him in the Royal Ascot Derby.

Hurricane Lane was bought for £200,000 (about US$236,000) as a yearling at Tattersalls, a few months before his dam Gale Force (Shirocco) was consigned there in foal to Australia and sold for £300,000 (about US$350,000) to Charlie Gordon-Watson. Trained in Britain by James Fanshawe, Gale Force came to France to crown her career with a Listed win in the Denisy, a two-miler run at Saint-Cloud in November on a very heavy turf.

At stud, Gale Force first gave Frankel's Storm (Frankel), a Listed-placed also fifth in the Prix des Réservoirs (G3) at 2, then Hurricane Lane, and a Sea the Stars colt. It is a family originating from the Aga Khan studs.

WHAT CONNECTIONS SAID

William Buick (jockey of Hurricane Lane, 1st)

“I would like to start by thanking France Galop, who have worked with the BHA. Their collaboration has made sure that everything was in place so that I could come and ride the horse. On Monday weren't even sure it would be possible! That was already a small victory. This horse is a superstar. He really had the perfect race today, unlike at The Curragh. The layout of the racecourse, the ground, the rhythm… Everything was perfect for him. He has a good cruising speed and a strong acceleration. Even more so, he is a very relaxed horse in his head! Off the back of that I think that the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe has to be a serious option for the autumn time.”

Charlie Appleby (trainer of Hurricane Lane, 1st)

“He's obviously been a very exciting horse to deal and he's only been beaten once in his life and that was in the Derby when I felt inexperience caught us out. Today's performance has franked him as one of the best three-year-olds in Europe and he's an exciting horse. As we always do we'll allow the dust to settle but you would have to be thinking about him as a serious contender for the Arc. We'll give him a bit of a break now because he's run in an English Derby, and Irish Derby and then backed it up two and a half weeks later in a Grand Prix de Paris. He deserves to have a break but whether he can give himself a break is another thing. He ran in the Grand Prix because he'd come out of the Irish Derby so well. He has a great constitution. He has a great mind and he show his wellbeing in the morning. A huge team effort goes into the way the horses are running at the moment and I'm delighted for his Highness Sheikh Mohammed.”

Olivier Peslier (jockey of Wordsworth, 2nd)

“He has ran well, despite not taking me along early. I had to shake him along to get him to follow the winner, to make sure I didn't get caught for toe. After that, he was very courageous and put in an excellent effort to finish second. He will be better suited by something a bit longer like the St Leger. He needs a little time to get going but he is quite talented.”

James Doyle (jockey of Alenquer, 3rd)

“The draw wasn't ideal. As we know it's not easy historically from the wide draw at Longchamp over a mile and a half. I rode him to come home and he's finished off very well. We were on the back foot a little bit and I had a little look up around the 800 metres out and I thought we had a bit of a mountain to climb. If the pace had held up it would have given me a chance but they did sort of steady at half way and made it very difficult for me to get into it. But I'm very proud of him, he's run a solid race and he's got the trip well. ”

The post Frankel Colt Hurricane Lane Adds Second G1 To His Resume In Grand Prix De Paris appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Frankel’s Hurricane Lane Lethal In The Grand Prix De Paris

Unbeaten other than when losing both front shoes in the G1 Epsom Derby, Godolphin's Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) continued his rampage through the European calendar with an emphatic six-length success in Wednesday's G1 Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp. Given a tow to the two-furlong marker by Ballydoyle's The Mediterranean (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the impressive G1 Irish Derby hero set sail by that rival there and powered to the line as Wordsworth (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) followed him at almost the same distance as he had when third in the June 26 Curragh Classic. Third was the G2 King Edward VII S. winner Alenquer (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}), 1 1/4 lengths away with the best of the French being the fifth-placed Baby Rider (Fr) (Gleneagles {Ire}). “What a horse,” jockey William Buick said. “First of all, I'd like to thank France Galop and all the medical team for allowing us to come–we weren't quite sure we were going to make it on Monday with the situation, but they got us through. The horse is a superstar and it was very smooth, smoother than Ireland as there was a much better rhythm. For him, the pace felt normal which is the sign of a good horse and you could see from the 400-metre marker his turn of foot. He has a very good mind and is a beautiful horse. This track is perfect for him and he liked the ground, which is on the easy side of good–it's taken the rain very well–so I'm sure the team will consider him for the Arc in October.”

Now that Hurricane Lane has upped the ante, it will take a special performance from stablemate Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in next Saturday's G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco S. to elbow him out of the picture for the Oct. 3 showpiece and send him to the G1 St Leger instead. Since changing distance in 2005, this has become a key stepping stone to the big one over the same course and distance but interestingly only the 2006 winner Rail Link (GB) has doubled up. Arguably none have entered this contest with the profile of Hurricane Lane and very few have exited with as much upside as the chestnut who eclipsed the wide-margin wins of Zambezi Sun (GB) (Dansili {GB}) in 2007 and Montmartre (Fr) (Montjeu {Ire}) the following year. ParisLongchamp was hit with 45mm of rain since the start of Tuesday and so he proved himself adaptable here, with his Irish Derby win coming on a lively surface.

Hurricane Lane's debut over a mile on heavy ground at Newmarket in October was the sole piece of evidence that he possessed Classic quality heading out of the winter, but he enhanced his credentials when staging a winning return in the Apr. 16 Newbury conditions event that has featured Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), Star of Seville (GB) (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}) and Light Shift (Kingmambo) in recent times. Beating Maximal (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) and Tasman Bay (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) in that 10-furlong contest, he increased his stock with a gutsy display in York's G2 Dante S. over that trip May 13 before failing to give his true running at Epsom and finishing well adrift of Adayar and Mojo Star (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). Showing that to be an aberration, he left the latter for dead at The Curragh and it was the form of the Kildare highlight that shone through here with Wordsworth providing back-up.

Charlie Appleby has a quandary now as he plots the course of his two star 3-year-old colts. “He's obviously been a very exciting horse to deal with and he's only been beaten once in his life and that was in the Derby when I felt inexperience caught us out,” he said. “Today's performance has franked him as one of the best 3-year-olds in Europe and he's an exciting horse. As we always do, we'll allow the dust to settle but you would have to be thinking about him as a serious contender for the Arc. We'll give him a bit of a break now, because he's run in an English Derby, an Irish Derby and then backed it up two and a half weeks later in a Grand Prix de Paris.”

“He deserves to have a break, but whether he can give himself a break is another thing,” Appleby added. “He ran in the Grand Prix because he'd come out of the Irish Derby so well. He has a great constitution. He has a great mind and he shows his wellbeing in the mornings. A huge team effort goes into the way the horses are running at the moment and I'm delighted for his Highness Sheikh Mohammed.”

Olivier Peslier said of Wordsworth, who continued to build an admirably consistent profile in the race his full-brother Kew Gardens (Ire) won in 2018, “He has ran well, despite not taking me along early. I had to shake him along to get him to follow the winner, to make sure I didn't get caught for toe. After that, he was very courageous and put in an excellent effort to finish second. He will be better suited by something a bit longer like the St Leger. He needs a little time to get going, but he is quite talented.”

James Doyle said of Alenquer, “The draw wasn't ideal. As we know, it's not easy historically from the wide draw at Longchamp over a mile and a half. I rode him to come home and he's finished off very well. We were on the back foot a little bit and I had a little look up around the 800 metres out and I thought we had a bit of a mountain to climb. If the pace had held up, it would have given me a chance but they did sort of steady at halfway and made it very difficult for me to get into it. But I'm very proud of him, he's run a solid race and he's got the trip well.”

Hurricane Lane is the second foal out of the Listed Prix Denisy winner Gale Force (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}), with the first being his full-sister Frankel's Storm (GB) who was runner-up in the Listed Junioren-Preis as a juvenile. The second dam Hannda (Ire) (Dr. Devious {Ire}) was responsible for the G1 Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares S. heroine Seal of Approval (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}), who in turn produced the G3 March S. and G3 Princess Royal S.-placed Promissory (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), and also the G3 Oak Tree S. third Instance (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}).

Hannda is a half to the G3 Concorde S. winner Hamairi (Ire) (Spectrum {Ire}), the Listed Testimonial S. scorer and G3 Ridgewood Pearl S. runner-up Hanabad (Ire) (Cadeaux Genereux {GB}) and to the dam of the G3 Derrinstown Stud 1000 Guineas Trial winner Hamariyna (Ire) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) and G3 Prix Bertrand du Breuil winner Hunaina (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}). The third dam Handaza (Ire) (Be My Guest) is a half-sister to the G3 Blue Wind S. scorer Hazarista (Ire) (Barathea {Ire}) and the G3 Athasi S. winner Hazariya (Ire) (Xaar {GB}), who is in turn the dam of the G1 Epsom and Irish Derby hero Harzand (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). Gale Force's unraced 2-year-old colt by Harzand's sire is named Sweet William (Ire), while she also has a yearling filly by Australia (GB).

Wednesday, ParisLongchamp, France
GRAND PRIX DE PARIS-G1, €600,000, ParisLongchamp, 7-14, 3yo, c/f, 12fT, 2:33.59, vs.
1–HURRICANE LANE (IRE), 128, c, 3, by Frankel (GB)
     1st Dam: Gale Force (GB) (SW-Fr & SP-Eng), by Shirocco (Ger)
     2nd Dam: Hannda (Ire), by Dr Devious (Ire)
     3rd Dam: Handaza (Ire), by Be My Guest
(200,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-Godolphin; B-Normandie Stud Ltd (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. €342,840. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Ire, GSW & G1SP-Eng, 6-5-0-1, €1,183,050. *Full to Frankel's Storm (GB), SP-Fr. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Wordsworth (Ire), 128, c, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Chelsea Rose (Ire), by Desert King (Ire). O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Barronstown Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €137,160.
3–Alenquer (Fr), 128, c, 3, Adlerflug (Ger)–Wild Blossom (Ger), by Areion (Ger). (€18,000 Wlg '18 ARQDE; 80,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-M M Stables; B-Gestut Romerhof (FR); T-William Haggas. €68,580.
Margins: 6, 1 1/4, HD. Odds: 1.70, 17.00, 2.90.
Also Ran: The Mediterranean (Ire), Baby Rider (Fr), Bubble Gift (Fr), Northern Ruler (Ger), Cheshire Academy (Fr), Saiydabad, Cash Equity (Fr), Sir Lamorak (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by TVG.

The post Frankel’s Hurricane Lane Lethal In The Grand Prix De Paris appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights